RACE NOTES: The Huskies and Beavers faced each other earlier in the season, at the San Diego Crew Classic, April 4-5 ... The UW womens varsity boat won a seventh straight Whittier Cup while OSU was sixth in that grand final ... UW also won the womens novice grand final and OSU placed third in the race ... On the mens side, in the frosh grand final, UW was second and OSU was fourth ... Head womens coach Jan Harville has made some changes in her varsity boat ... rowing in the four seat this weekend will be Annie Christie (Sr., Vancouver, Wash.) and in the three seat will be Rachel Dunnet (Jr., West Vancouver, B.C.) ... the rest of the lineup remains the same ... Jan Williamson and Tiffani Sumner will row in the junior varsity boat ... in the mens varsity race, Washington will race the crew of cox Adrian Dahood, stroke Kevin Dolan, 7-Pat Ormond, 6-Dan Shapiro, 5-Brent Starace, 4-George Dowell, 3-Kurt Vigeland, 2-Erik Brand and bow Todd Bowser.

NCAA RANKINGS: In the latest NCAA Regional rankings, released April 28, Washington stands atop all four categories in the West Region. In team rankings for other regions, Brown leads the New England Region, Princeton leads the Mid-Atlantic Region and Virginia leads the Central Region.

THIS SEASON: Washington opened the 1998 season in impressive fashion, winning four of six races at the San Diego Crew Classic, April 4-5. The varsity men won a fourth straight Copley Cup and the women won a seventh straight Whittier Cup. The womens junior varsity and novice crews also posted victories, with the jayvee winning a sixth straight race and the novice posting its third win in the last four years. The mens JV finished fourth in its grand final and the frosh boat placed second.

The men extended their streak of Windermere Cup victories, May 2, as it posted an eighth-straight victory on Opening Day, this year over the lightweight crew from Nottinghamshire County. The varsity women suffered their first defeat in seven years as they fell to the British National Team. The mens Cascade Cup provided the closest race of Opening Day as the a second heavyweight crew from Nottinghamshire edged the junior varsity Huskies. The womens junior varsity won its eighth consecutive Cascade Cup . The Huskies are undefeated in dual meet competition this year, with victories over Washington State and Wisconsin.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Huskies prepare for the Pacific-10 Conference/Pacific Coast Championships, May 17 on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif. Washington won seven of eight races at the 1997 championships, with the womens varsity four suffering the lone loss. The varsity men will aim for a ninth straight title and the varsity women will look for a sixth straight victory. The junior varsity men also have six-year win streak alive.

LEADING the TEAM: Captains for the 1998 crew season are seniors Brett Reisinger (Kent, Wash.) and Denni Nessler (Pleasantville, NJ).

Husky Crew Picked to Repeat in 98: The UW mens and womens varsity eight crews were picked to repeat as the open collegiate champions in the first-ever US Rowing preseason coaches poll released March 19. In the womens poll, Washington was a unanimous choice to win its second consecutive NCAA title.

The Huskies won the grand final at the 1997 championships, the first time the event was sanctioned by the NCAA, by over five seconds and return all but one of their crew. The UW women are led by stroke Sabina Telenska and U.S. Nations Cup team member Kelly Horton as it aims for its eighth national title. The mens varsity eight poll was closer, with California and Princeton also receiving first place votes. UW lost five seniors from its 1997 undefeated squad, however it should see talent move up from its also undefeated junior varsity and freshman squads. UW has two senior national team members returning, Bob Cummins and coxswain Sean Mulligan, to provide leadership in 1998. Both competed at the 1997 FISA World Rowing Championships, with Cummins bringing home a gold medal as a member of the mens eight.